As it has now been nearly two weeks since the flood in the South
Basement that took out our permanent connection to the power grid, I
thought I would take a moment to try and bring you up to speed on our
restoration efforts. Before doing so, I would like to once again thank
everyone for their patience and understanding as we manage the
inconvenience of relocation. The spirit of cooperation and camaraderie
has been evident daily throughout System Administration and I am most
grateful for the collective support.

Special thanks goes to the emergency response/business continuity and
restoration teams for their tireless efforts to both facilitate and
conduct business in less than ideal circumstances, and to restore full,
permanent power to all of SUNY Plaza. These teams are literally working
day and night, and deserve an enormous amount of credit for the
professionalism and expertise that they have brought to bear on the
challenges before us.

I appreciate that we all want to know when full permanent power will be
restored and we can return to our usual work locations. At this point,
we have developed a very detailed plan for “achieving normalcy.” Timing
for this is dependent on three factors: the arrival of critical parts so
that they can be installed; the period of time necessary for the
complete powering down of all SUNY Plaza buildings that will allow for
the cutover to permanent power without the interruption of IT services;
and the results of electrical and mechanical system tests that must be
performed once reconnected to the power grid, but before we can move
back into Plaza South and the Tower Offices. Safety is our first
priority, and so, we will not move back into our regular space until our
safety experts are fully satisfied that all of our systems are
functioning properly.

At this point, it is incredibly difficult to say exactly when we will be
able to again fully occupy SUNY Plaza. I do not want to create undue
pressure on our restoration team, nor false hope about when the current
inconveniences will come to an end. The first conceivable date that we
could begin to reconnect to permanent power is Sunday, October 31st;
however, it is very possible that we will have to wait until Sunday,
November 7th. Given these parameters, right now, my best, most informed
estimate is that we will not be able to re-occupy the whole of SUNY
Plaza before mid-November. Remember, this is just an estimate and
dependent upon when critical parts become available for installation and
the results of system testing. As we get more precise information, we
will pass it along to you.

Several people have asked me why the elevators are not available for use
given the fact that we do have onsite generators providing temporary
power to the Federal Building and Plaza North. The answer is that it is
not safe to run elevators on generator power. If a generator were to
fail (and we have learned all too well that generators have a tendency
to do just that), we would not have power readily available to rescue
those potentially trapped in the elevator.

Finally, I know there has been a great deal of banter in various media
outlets about whether or not the presence of our former public safety
staff would have prevented the flood altogether, or at least avoided the
loss of permanent power. Regardless of what you may be hearing, the
answer to that question is no.

It appears that the immediate cause of the flood was the failure to
properly tighten a pipe fitting on the river water cooling system. More
specifically, when the flow of water was re-established from the Hudson
River to our chiller system, the water immediately began to leak through
the loose pipe fitting. The rate at which the water came into the south
basement as a result of the fitting failure has been estimated at
approximately 750 gallons of water per minute! At this exceedingly high
rate of infiltration, water flowing in from the Hudson very quickly made
contact with the main electrical gear, causing extremely dangerous
conditions in the South Basement. Once the flooding started, identifying
the source of the water, determining which valve controlled the source,
safely cutting off electrical power and closing the valve would have
required assistance from those specifically trained in and familiar with
the operation of our building systems, including electrical systems.

The flooding of the South Basement and the consequential loss of
permanent power occurred rapidly creating an unsafe environment that
prevented an immediate solution. The good news is that we are
responding efficiently, and expertly as a team. Business continues as
usual, despite the challenging environment, and we are well on our way
to restoring full and permanent power.

I will continue to keep you apprised of our progress. In the meantime,
please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns.